Cooking at Home
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November 10, 2026
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Cook a meal in Italian from prepping vegetables to bringing the pan to the table, using the everyday words friends say in the kitchen.
- Cooking steps: verbs for cutting, heating oil, sautéing, boiling, stirring, draining and tasting
- In the kitchen: the pot and the pan, cooking heat, and everyday measures like un filo d'olio and un pizzico di sale
- Natural remarks: short sentences using tu that follow the order of making a meal together
Voca cards
1.
la ricetta
recipe
Aspetta, guardiamo insieme il video della ricetta.
Wait, let's watch the recipe video together.
2.
l'ingrediente
ingredient
Abbiamo tutti gli ingredienti o manca qualcosa?
Do we have all the ingredients, or are we missing something?
3.
sbucciare
to peel
Tu sbucci le cipolle? Io intanto lavo le verdure.
Will you peel the onions? I'll wash the vegetables in the meantime.
4.
tagliare
to cut, to chop
Taglia le zucchine a pezzetti non troppo piccoli.
Cut the zucchini into pieces, not too small.
Common ways to cut food: 'a pezzetti' (into small pieces), 'a fette' (into slices), 'a cubetti' (diced) and 'a metà' (in half).
5.
tritare
to chop finely, to mince
Bisogna tritare finemente il prezzemolo con il coltello.
We need to chop the parsley finely with a knife.
6.
la pentola
pot
Prendi la pentola grande e riempila d'acqua.
Grab the big pot and fill it with water.
A deep pot, usually with two handles, used for boiling pasta, soups or sauces.
7.
far bollire l'acqua
to boil the water, to bring the water to a boil
Metti già a far bollire l'acqua, così guadagniamo tempo.
Go ahead and put the water on to boil so we save time.
8.
la padella
pan, frying pan, skillet
Scalda bene la padella prima di iniziare.
Heat the pan well before you start.
A flat, shallow frying pan with one long handle.
9.
un filo d'olio
a drizzle of oil
Metti un filo d'olio nella padella e uno spicchio d'aglio.
Put a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic in the pan.
Literally 'a thread of oil': the everyday Italian expression for a drizzle of olive oil.
10.
soffriggere
to sauté, to fry gently
Fai soffriggere la cipolla per un paio di minuti senza bruciarla.
Sauté the onion for a couple of minutes without burning it.
Gently frying chopped onion, garlic or herbs in oil at the start of a recipe to build the flavor base ('il soffritto').
11.
aggiungere
to add
Nel video dice di aggiungere i pomodori e mezzo bicchiere d'acqua.
In the video it says to add the tomatoes and half a glass of water.
12.
un pizzico di sale
a pinch of salt
Mettici un pizzico di sale e un po' di pepe.
Put in a pinch of salt and a little pepper.
13.
mescolare
to stir, to mix
Continua a mescolare con il cucchiaio di legno, altrimenti si attacca.
Keep stirring with the wooden spoon, otherwise it'll stick.
In everyday speech, people also say 'girare' ('gira il sugo').
14.
a fuoco lento
on low heat, at a simmer
Adesso abbassa la fiamma e lascia andare il sugo a fuoco lento.
Now turn the heat down and let the sauce cook on low heat.
Also 'a fuoco basso' (on low heat), as opposed to 'a fuoco vivo' or 'a fuoco alto' (on high heat).
15.
buttare la pasta
to put the pasta in
L'acqua bolle, butto la pasta?
The water's boiling, should I put the pasta in?
Literally 'to throw the pasta': the everyday phrase for putting pasta into boiling water.
16.
cuocere
to cook
Guarda sulla scatola per quanti minuti deve cuocere.
Check the box to see how many minutes it needs to cook.
Irregular past participle: 'cotto' (cooked).
17.
assaggiare
to taste, to try
Assaggia tu e dimmi se va bene di sale.
You taste it and tell me if it has enough salt.
'Andare bene di sale' or 'essere giusto di sale' is how Italians say food has the right amount of salt.
18.
al dente
al dente, firm to the bite
Spegni pure il fuoco, la pasta è già al dente.
Go ahead and turn off the heat, the pasta is already al dente.
Cooked so it is still firm when bitten, not soft or overcooked ('scotta').
19.
scolare la pasta
to drain the pasta
Tieni un po' d'acqua di cottura prima di scolare la pasta.
Save some of the cooking water before draining the pasta.
The colander used to drain it is 'lo scolapasta'.
20.
saltare in padella
to toss in the pan, to sauté
Adesso saltiamo la pasta in padella con il sugo per un minuto.
Now let's toss the pasta in the pan with the sauce for a minute.
Tossing cooked food in the pan over heat so it absorbs the sauce before serving.
21.
grattugiare
to grate
Intanto puoi grattugiare un po' di parmigiano?
In the meantime, can you grate some Parmesan?
22.
È pronto!
It's ready!
È pronto! Portiamo tutto in tavola prima che si raffreddi.
It's ready! Let's bring everything to the table before it gets cold.